Chicksands accident - a big thankyou

There's been a lot of negativity in the air this past week, but my experience yesterday brought home that there are still good people out there.

Yesterday my wife had a major off on the dual slalom course at Chicksands. I got to the end of the run, realised she wasn't right on my tail as per usual - and then looked over to see someone running towards the trail. I dropped the bike and ran over to see her out cold, convulsing and having difficulty breathing. Two other guys arrived with me, and together we managed to remove her helmet so I could then clear her airway as she had partially swallowed her tongue. Once we had her breathing sorted out she started to come round, and we then got her into the recovery position.

Luckily one of the guys there was an army medic, and he was excellent in establishing whether she had any broken bones or suspected spinal injuries. Luckily that all proved negative, but she'd taken a really hard bang to the head and was pretty distressed & confused. I carried her back up the hill to the car park and someone else kindly brought our bikes back up for us. The medic stayed with her and comforted her while I was throwing the bikes & gear into the back of the car, getting ready to take her to Bedford hospital.

When we got to Bedford we saw absolutely no signs for the hospital, so I dropped into a pub and asked for directions. A very kind van driver offered to lead us there in his van - and we were there in no time. She was checked out and discharged yesterday evening.

I was really touched by people's generosity and kind-heartedness yesterday, I don't think I could have dealt with all that on my own! If the medic in question is on this forum (rides a black & white Enduro), or anyone else that helped us out yesterday is on here - a huge thank you from both of us.

Two other guys arrived with me, and together we managed to remove her helmet so I could then clear her airway as she had partially swallowed her tongue.

Glad it all worked out well, though feel the need to point out that removing a helmet isn't necessarily a good idea unless it's life threatening not too (not having a pop, just information for others who's first reaction might be to whip off the helmet).

Broke my arm in a head on collision with a tree at Chicksands a few years ago. 2 plates and 12 screws the result. Everyone that was there then (a busy Sunday) were allot of help. Even the young lads sat talking to me waiting for the medics as I tried to figure out why my arm was an S shape.

aracer raised an important point about removing helmets - rightly so. Normally I would have left her helmet on, but she was clearly having trouble breathing so I needed to make sure that her airway was clear. A couple of years ago I did a motorcycle first aid course called 'first bike on scene'. This covers how to remove a helmet while minimising the risk of damage to the spine. I believe they run them at hospitals around the country - something like this one: http://www.firstaid-training.com/firstbikeonscene.asp